Sudanese women from community kitchens, run by local volunteers, prepare meals for people who are affected by conflict and extreme hunger and are out of reach of international aid efforts, in Omdurman, Sudan, May 13, 2024. (PhotoL Reuters)
Global hunger declined for a third consecutive year in 2025, but the world remains off track to eliminate hunger by 2030, with Africa emerging as the region with the highest number of undernourished people, a new United Nations (UN) report released on Tuesday has warned.
According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, released by five UN agencies, an estimated 645 million people, representing 7.8 per cent of the global population, faced hunger in 2025, down from 659 million in 2024 and nearly 688 million in 2022,
The decline reflects continued improvements in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Africa, however, is moving in the opposite direction. The continent is now home to an estimated 309 million hungry people, compared with 292 million in Asia, with rapid population growth making Africa the region with the highest number of undernourished people.
›Middle East crisis drives 6.1 million more people into hunger across Somalia, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan – WFP›Proposed rights-based law to govern public demonstrations, protect peaceful protesters›Saudi Arabia, UK and Canada lead in rising Kenyan visa applications for 2026›African entrepreneurs operate in tough conditions: The skills they’ve honed could be useful to others›Gachagua, Matiang’i parties in bitter fallout as cracks widen in United Opposition movement›Nigeria recalls anti-apartheid support as it pushes AU to confront xenophobia in South Africa
Based on current projections, the UN agencies noted that between 510 million and 520 million people could still be living with hunger by 2030, well above the level needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Zero Hunger.
“The report shows that progress is possible, but we must move faster,” FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said, urging governments to increase investment and strengthen food systems to make healthy diets affordable.
Beyond hunger, access to adequate food remains a challenge for billions of people. Around 2.1 billion people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025, meaning they were forced at times to reduce either the quality or quantity of the food they consumed. Although the figure has declined in recent years, it remains above pre-pandemic levels.
Similarly, the rising cost of nutritious food continued to limit access to healthy diets, leaving about 2.69 billion people unable to afford enough healthy food in 2025. The average cost of a healthy diet increased during the period under review, with Africa facing the greatest challenge as two-thirds of its population could not afford nutritious meals.
At the same time, progress in improving nutrition remained too slow to meet global targets. While some regions recorded declines in child stunting and wasting and improvements in breastfeeding rates, the report found that anaemia among women aged 15 to 49 had worsened and adult obesity continued to rise.
According to World Food Programme (WFP) Acting Executive Director Carl Skau, the statistics represented the daily struggles of families affected by food insecurity.
“Behind every number in this report is a family counting the cost of food,” he said, warning that conflict and climate shocks continue to make nutritious diets unaffordable for vulnerable communities.
